Playboy’s calling

Columbia senior marketing major Kristen Sidor was selected from hundreds of entrants who applied to Playboy.com and is among the contest’s eight finalists.

Sidor said she heard of the contest from being Facebook friends with Playboy. She said it took a month after submitting her application and photos to the contest for the magazine to e-mail her back.

“The first e-mail said I was in the running to be one of the eight finalists, and I had to submit one more photo,” Sidor said. “So I submitted one more photo and a week later, I got an e-mail back saying I made the top eight finalists.”

Sidor attended Columbia for the 2006–07 school year before transferring to a college in her Indiana hometown. She said she transferred back to Columbia for her senior year because she wanted a degree from Columbia.

She said she hopes the contest will bring more opportunities her way.

“I’m not trying to do modeling as a career,” Sidor said. “But it would look good on my resume because it’s Playboy.”

She said it’s always been a dream of hers to be featured in Playboy; the Hottest College Girl contest was an opportunity.

“It’s something different, as opposed to most of the things Playboy offers,” Sidor said. “Most of the time it’s ‘Send in your pictures and you can be in a magazine.’’’

Although Sidor made the finals, she said she’s seen her total votes and as of press time, she’s currently in second to last place, with 2.35 percent of the vote.

The Hottest College Girl contest is listed under the Playboy U tab of the publication’s website.

Playboy U consists of a network of college students across the nation who act as brand ambassadors for Playboy on college campuses.

Playboy looks for students who can demonstrate they are outgoing and involved on campus when seeking a brand ambassador to promote its products, according to Playboy spokesman Steve Mazieka.

Mazeika said a student doesn’t need to be a part of a school with a Playboy College Ambassador to participate in the site’s featured contests.

Sidor is not a Brand Ambassador for the publication, and the college doesn’t have a Playboy representative.

The two college girls with the most votes during the week of Oct. 25 will be featured on the brand’s website and win a party hosted by Playboy and sponsored by Coty Fragrances, the largest fragrance company in the world, according to Coty’s website.

“To [be able to] have a fun party at Columbia, I get to meet so many people again,” Sidor said. “ When I lived here I knew so many people [but it’s been hard getting to know people now that I’m commuting, it would be the perfect opportunity.”

A Playboy Playmate will also be in attendance to celebrate with winners at a venue in proximity to the winner’s campus, according to Playboy’s Senior Writer and Associate Producer Chris Lathrop.

To vote for Kristen Sidor and other college girls, visit Playboy.com/PlayboyU.